Misplaced Faith: Career

Where Have You Placed Your Faith?

---

Achieving success in a fulfilling career is a noble goal. Christians, like others, want to make a valuable contribution to the world in their area of expertise. Often, it takes years of education, entry-level learn­ing, and earned job promotions to reach the pinnacle of your vocation. 

On average, employees in their twenties are com­pleting college or professional training. They begin working in their career at an entry-level position and will gradually move up the ladder of success to higher ­level positions and salaries. Leadership roles are the next step for some when they reach their prime per­formance level in a specific vocation. Finally, training others or stepping down to retire or phase out of their high-level role is the last career move, although some are keeping their positions beyond retirement for years to come. Typically, a person spends between the ages of twenty and sixty-five building and sustaining a ca­reer. Due to several reasons, they may have to step back temporarily, such as when a company closes its doors, or the employee experiences a debilitating accident or illness. In total, forty-five to fifty years of a person's life are spent in establishing and maintaining a career that will be, for many, their primary income source. 

Contributing to society's well-being through gain­ful employment is a hallmark of personal responsi­bility and community support. However, putting too much faith in a career can lead to a severe down-fall during an economic downturn, for example, if an employee's health falters or fails. During the early twentieth-century Depression in the US, many fami­lies struggled to make it economically. Wealthy ty­coons committed suicide when the banks failed. 

Today, we frequently see news reports that most lottery winners who suddenly receive millions of dol­lars lose it quickly, often within a year. Some don't know how to manage funds efficiently, which leads to unplanned spending and a lack of investments for the future. Others might be taken advantage of by unscrupulous relatives or new "friends." "Easy come, easy go" or "a fool and his money are soon parted" are common expressions applied to people who cannot hang on to a windfall. 

Internet "influencers" sometimes become near­ instant successes on their digital channels and social media. But a surprising number of these individuals, many still teenagers or young adults, are killing them­selves despite their hard-won and newfound success. Why? Because success was thrust at them without their having the means to manage it. Some are over­whelmed by the competition and feel their once-rising star is dimming. Others aren't sure where to go next in the quest for success or how to keep building their subscriber bases. Success often feels like a colossal dis­appointment, leaving some to ask, "Is that all there is?" For many, an empty void replaces the early euphoria experienced as they reached the pinnacle of success. 

Indeed, we can't take our material possessions with us when we die, and they wouldn't do us any good in the afterlife anyway. Placing faith in the Lord instead of ourselves, our money, or our career guarantees success. In the eyes of the culture, we may not seem successful, but when we learn to walk by faith in God, we will have peace with God and there is no greater success than having peace with God. Nothing can replace the contentment of living by faith and walking in peace with the Lord. 

Yours in Christ,

Bishop Eric A. Lambert, Jr., Pastor

*Excerpt from "Living By Faith" by Bishop Eric A. Lambert, Jr.